Buttons and Bows
by December
Summary: Future fic. A series of moments in the life of a woman and how her "silly puppies" made all the difference in the world.
1. Christmas Bows

_AN: This fic was originally a response to the 2007 Winter Challenge on dotmoon. My earlier story, Bye-Bye is not originally intended as a prologue to this piece, but I suggest reading Bye-Bye first. This will be a multi-chapter story and your feedback in appreciated._

_And I don't own Animaniacs…but this idea and the non-Animaniacs characters that show up in the story are mine. Thanks for reading._

**Buttons and Bows**

**Chapter 1: Christmas Bows**

It was the shrieks and squeals of children playing in the snow that had drawn her to the window. She smiled as she looked out on the chaos in the street. The eight inches that had fallen seemed to have made the neighborhood children's day, even more than the presents in their houses, she was sure. Observing the chaos did bring back some happy memories after all.

"Melinda, are you ready to open presents now?" her husband whined as he re-entered the room from the kitchen.

"Yes," the woman smiled as she left the window to sit on the couch in front of the tree.

"You know," her husband said as he joined her, "I always figured you be up at the crack of dawn wanting to tear into presents. You are such a kid at heart; I'm a little surprised you managed to wait calmly until noon."

Melinda threw her husband a look. It was a little eerie how well he knew her, and it hadn't even been a year of wedded bliss yet. "I am older and wiser now. It is important to act my age," she answered with a slight lift of her head, pushing her blonde hair out of her face.

"Okay that," her husband conceded, "and I'm betting someone overheard that her big gift wouldn't get here until after eleven and she was bound and determined to wait for it and open it first."

Melinda opened her mouth and then shut it.

"Now, now, Melinda. You wouldn't have been listening to phone conversations trying to figure out what you were getting for Christmas, would you?"

"Not hiding the present in the house was grossly unfair," was all Melinda would admit.

"Well, the big present is here. I'll go get it. Wait here," her husband said as he stood to go back into the kitchen.

Melinda smiled to herself. She was going to sit right there and wait. At least she was until she saw something white flash by out of the corner of her eye. Before she knew it, she was back in front of the window, watching an intense snowball fight. She hadn't even really processed that she'd left her seat on the couch until she heard her husband's laughter.

"You still wander off at the drop of the hat. I think I got the gift just in time."

Melinda turned to see her husband sitting on the couch with a big box with bows and holes. "Okay, Steve. Why does the box have holes?"

"Wait, I have a speech," Steve objected as Melinda returned to the couch and reached for the box. "And you can't have the gift until the speech is finished."

"A speech? Really? This isn't going be to another attempt at the perfect proposal is it? Because we are already married and the confusion and chaos of your last proposal was perfect."

Her husband just ignored her as he began his speech in earnest. "As I said earlier, I think this is good timing for this gift. Pretty soon after we met you told me about Buttons. You shared how he protected you and loved you when you were little. I think you even said he was the first male to love you unconditionally – and the only male to allow you to pull him into all kinds of mischief. Well, the only male until me."

Melinda smiled at that. Steve had allowed her to drag him into a number of crazy things. It still amazed her that he hadn't run screaming in the other direction after their first date.

But her husband was still talking even as she was thinking. "You even took me to meet Buttons after we had gotten serious-"

"And I'm still grateful that you stayed with the crazy lady who dragged you to a pet cemetery to meet her dead dog."

"No, no," Steve interrupted her. "Buttons was an important part of your life, even more so than your parents – and having met them I can see why. Did you mother really leave our wedding reception early for a garden club meeting?" Steve marveled as an aside. Pausing only long enough to let Melinda nod, he continued, "I appreciated having the opportunity to thank him for protecting you. Well, because I don't know what I would have done without you in my life."

Melinda smiled at this. Her husband really was the sweetest person on earth.

Steve had opened his mouth to speak again, when Melinda noticed that the box was… "Steve, why is the box moving? What is in there?!"

"Well, I was just thinking about how you said you had thought Buttons would be around to protect your own daughter, and well, since we are starting our own family, I thought-"

This time it wasn't his wife that cut him off, but the box. A soft "Arf!" was heard in the quiet room.

"Steve…the box just barked. You got me a moving, barking box. I guess that rules out jewelry, huh?"

Shaking his head that his pretty speech was once again ruined, Steve handed his wife the box. "Merry Christmas, Melinda."

Taking the box and sitting on the coffee table in front of her, Melinda lifted the lid and looked inside. She was met with the sparking eyes of a brown ball of fur and an excited wagging tall. The mix of brown, black, and white on the little animal reminded Melinda of an old friend long gone.

As she lifted the puppy out of the box and held it in the air, her husband said, "She's a little bit of a mutt, but she's pretty loyal. And cute too."

In awe of the playful puppy in her arms and how much she made her think of Buttons, Melinda uttered one word. "Bows."

"Excuse me?" Steve asked after a few moments of silence.

"That's her name. She could have been Button's child and I have a feeling she'll do a good job of looking after our children. So her name is Bows," Melinda was quite for a moment. "Thank you, Steven," she added quietly.

As she lowered the excited puppy closer to her face, Bows barked and swatted her nose. The twenty seven year old laughed and uttered a phrase she hadn't said in over seventeen years. "Silly puppy."

- to be continued -


	2. Protective Knots

Buttons and Bows

Chapter Two: Protective Knots

She should have known. It made a lot of things make more sense.

She still sat on the examination table in shock. The doctor had delivered the news, talked about prescriptions, and left. She mentioned something about another appointment, but Melinda wasn't really listening.

She could pinpoint the day it happened. Day two of the blizzard, when they had lost power for hours, she and Steve had to generate heat somehow. Or, at least, that's what she jokingly said to her best friend. Generating heat had nothing to do with their decision…decisions, really. It had happened more than once.

But after that day, things were pretty normal for awhile. Except for Bows. She was a friendly puppy, and was playful from minute one. In fact, throughout February she was a bit of a handful. But almost that next day after fun in the blizzard in March, Bows became more protective. She ran along at Melinda's side, almost directing her into safer paths. With the exception of Steve, she'd bark when people approached Melinda. People including neighbors, friends, and even Melinda's parents when they finally came to visit.

At the time, Melinda had laughed in her head about it. It seems that Bows agreed with her that "Mr. Man" and "Lady" were only family by accidents of biology, not because they had earned it in any way.

Then, at the beginning of April, she had started to get sick. It had scared Melinda at first. She wasn't the type to throw-up, so the fact that she did so three days in a row was frightening. Each time it happened, Steve was by her side in the bathroom, holding her hair. Bows was usually forced to be on the other side of the bathroom door, where she would scratch and whine. When the spell passed, Melinda always insisted that Steve go out and let Bows know she was okay.

It was amazing the man didn't think she was crazy, but she couldn't help the request. For Melinda it almost seemed as if Bows understood what was going on around her, like Melinda's first "silly puppy" had. She didn't want her new friend to worry.

It was the illness that brought her into the doctor. The three days of illness and the four weeks of strange behavior by Bows.

Four weeks. Bows was better than any test she could buy anyway.

Pregnant. Four weeks pregnant. She should have known. It made a lot of things make more sense.

b&bb&bb&b

Her Bows was quite the protector. During her whole pregnancy her puppy rarely left her side. Steve was about as bad. She had had several conversations with them about how she was pregnant not porcelain. It probably wasn't an odd conversation to have with her husband. It was probably amazingly strange to have it with her dog.

Bows was going to take such good care of her little one…assuming Melinda made it through this pregnancy. Why did everyone make pregnancy sound like a wonderful thing? Illness, leading to constant bloating, weird sensations, pain, and being fat. Your center of balance is thrown off. You waddle everywhere. And your dog and husband act like you are about to break. Your dog always looks worried and your husband thinks you are hormonal mess.

And she wasn't! She had a perfectly good reason for laughing, crying, and then screaming, all within three seconds of each other. A reason she forgot when Steve gave her chocolate, but she'd had a reason.

A soft bark brought Melinda out of her musings. Looking at the foot of her chair, she saw Bows, head tilted, looking at her.

"I'm fine, Bows. You do realize that I'm a big puppy and I can take of myself, right?"

Bows blinked and looked at her.

"You are just going to watch over me until Steve gets home to help you, I take it?"

This time Bows almost seemed to nod as she barked.

"And if I told you to go play in the yard?"

Bows whined.

"Alright, alright. You can stay with me. Silly puppy."

b&bb&bb&b

She should have known. Bows didn't just change her behavior to be different.

Melinda's back had started bothering her at about nine the night before. Thinking it was just another one of those stupid pains that this "wonderful" gift called pregnancy kept giving her, she ignored it. The back pain was still with her the next day, but she waved Steve on to work.

Bows was worried about her, however, from almost the moment she woke up. Her dog followed her around the house all day, whining and looking concerned. She actually hadn't wanted Steve to leave the house, it seemed to Melinda, but given that Melinda was trying to climb a step ladder while Steve was leaving, Bows stayed with her instead of blocking Steve's exit. She didn't seem happy about it.

It was a good thing that Steve had come back for lunch. He had stopped to check on her in the living room and moved on to the kitchen, when Melinda had slowly risen from the chair where she sat. The back pain was hurting like hell. She took two steps – Bows right beside here, whining – and then her water broke.

Bows took off barking to get Steve. Somehow Steve translated frantic puppy barking to "my wife needs me" so he rushed into the living room and then rushed her to the hospital.

Not that they could leave right away. Bows wanted to go with them. She really did. It was only Steve bending down to her and saying, "Bows, Melinda needs you to look after the house, make sure it's safe for when she comes back. She won't be able to do what she had to do unless you do that. Do you understand? Can you do that for us, girl?" Bows had done the bark slash nod thing and let them go.

She should have known she was in labor. Bows had been anxious all day, and Bows didn't just change her behavior to be different.

b&bb&bb&b

She didn't remember the birthing process. And there was no record of it, because she absolutely refused to let anyone tape her looking a mess and screaming in pain. But about ten hours later, she had a beautiful baby girl in her arms, and family and friends around her.

Of course, everyone asked her name. "Cynthia Marie," was Melinda's answer.

"Isn't that a little bit of a mouthful for such a little thing?" the proud father had joked.

"Well, we'll just follow the family tradition of shortening names and call her Cindy," Melinda replied.

All in all, the conversation in her private room was normal until Melinda turned to her husband and said. "You should go home and tell Bows that Cindy and I are fine."

"Tell Bows?" asked Melinda's best friend.

"Who is Bows?" from "Lady", who had shocked Melinda by her presence. Melinda just assumed that there was no neighborhood association meeting that day.

"Isn't Bows your dog?" from Melinda's brother-in-law. The one she didn't like. "It's not like a dog can understand."

Steve just shook his head. "I'm on my way, Melinda. Just rest up and look after Cindy for me."

"Mindy, dear," Lady began as Steve left, "Now that you have a little one, you are going to let your dog go, right?"

Melinda stared at her mother. "Absolutely not. I had Buttons; I think Cindy just might need Bows."

Lady began to talk about something else, but Melinda ignored her. She was so lucky. She'd had Buttons. She has Steve. And now, she had her own little Cindy…just a few days before Christmas.

Steve did give the best Christmas gifts, it seems.

- to be continued -


	3. Tangled Ties

Buttons and Bows

Chapter Three: Tangled Threads

"I'm a horrible person, aren't I?" she asked her old friend. "To be upset by this? It makes me a horrible person, right?"

Her friend didn't reply. He couldn't. And even when he could, it wouldn't have been in English. Melinda would have understood what the bark or whine meant, however. She knew she would have.

Looking at the grave in front of her, Melinda decided she must be crazy. Crazy people talk to their dead dogs. Crazy people visit pet graves at least twice a year. Crazy people bring prospective husbands to meet dead dogs. Crazy people tell dead dogs they are pregnant before they tell their mothers. Although, given Lady, that may not be so crazy.

Crazy people came to talk to dead dogs because they were jealous at the attention their puppy was giving their new baby.

"Bows adores Cindy. She protects Cindy. It's what I wanted, right? I mean, I wanted Cindy to have someone like you," Melinda paused for a moment. "When I was much younger, I thought she'd actually have you. No one thinks to explain to four year olds about dog years. But this is what I wanted.

"So, why…why am I upset that Bows spends less time with me? Why am I upset that Steve spends less time with me?"

Melinda shook her head. She must sound a mess. She was sure she looked it. When she first got to Buttons grave, she'd burst into tears. It had been a while before she could even speak.

"You know, I was a little worried when the doctors told me it was a girl. All men want boys, right? I was afraid that Steven would be disappointed. And he wasn't, he adored our Cindy from the moment she landed in his arms! But now…

"Now I only feel useful, appreciated, SEEN as Cindy's mother. What happened to the romantic man who used to suddenly pull me into a waltz? Who'd talk to me about pop culture or call me beautiful? Now he only misses me when it comes time for Cindy to eat…and that's only because he can't breastfeed himself." Melinda's voice dropped. "Bows doesn't miss me at all."

"You'd miss me, right Buttons?" Melinda asked after a few minutes of silence. Hesitantly, remembering Button's first owner, she added, "Did you…did you miss Lady at all, after I was born?"

She almost wished she could hear a bark in response to that question. They had never talked about Lady. In many ways, Buttons probably could have given her insight into Lady, if she's known how to ask for it. He was Lady's first, after all. And he responded to her calls and commands – Lady couldn't have been but so bad an owner.

Was she anything like Lady? Melinda wasn't sure – she didn't know Lady well enough to be sure. And, without a mother's guidance, Melinda didn't know what the hell she was doing on the other side of the parenting equation.

"Is it wrong to want some attention? To want to be Melinda again? To want a break?" Melinda shook her head. "Oh, what I wouldn't give to be able to wander off on an adventure with you."

"Will I do?" a voice asked quietly behind her.

Turning so fast that she almost fell, Melinda looked for visual confirmation of what she heard. "Steven? But who's with –"

"My mother and Bows are with Cindy. She's fine," her husband said as he approached. Pulling Melinda into a hug, Steve held her for a few minutes. Then he asked again, "I know I have been a little distracted, but will I do as a protector for one of your adventurers?"

"How did you know where to find me?" Melinda asked instead of answering.

"I didn't at first," Steve admitted after a pause. "And that scared the hell out of me, Melinda. I called all your friends. I called all of my friends – Jase and Emily think I'm an idiot, by the way – and just as I was about to call your mother, I thought you might have come here to see the friend who always protected you. So I called my mother, talked to Bows, and came here as soon as I could."

"Talked to Bows?"

"Melinda, Bows adores Cindy, no question. But she was worried about how you left the house. She'd check on Cindy, then she'd pad to the front door and whine for a few seconds. Then she'd go back and check on Cindy. I'd say she's worried."

"Oh," Melinda whispered. "So, what do we do now?"

"Well, we go home and tell Bows you're okay. Then you are going to pack a bag and we are going away for the night. Just as Steven and Melinda. Mom will watch Cindy…and I can take you waltzing."

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough to realize that I need to let you know more often how much I love you – for being Melinda. Enough to be sure to give you the chance to be Melinda. And enough to realize I'm lucky as hell, so I shouldn't blow it."

"I love you, too, Steve," Melinda gave him a hug and began to walk away. She paused after a few steps when Steve didn't follow. "Steven?"

"I'll be right with you. I just want to talk with Buttons for a second."

"Okay," Melinda smiled at her husband as she began to walk away again.

Melinda let Steve have a few private moments with Buttons, which was just as well. Although she would have appreciated it, she didn't need to hear her husband thanking Buttons for once again protecting and looking after Melinda. Besides, Steve would say that his promise to keep Melinda happy and a little girl at heart was something that needed to stay between the males in Melinda's life.

- to be continued -


End file.
